The United Nation’s (U.N.) Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators recently issued the latest assessment of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in a 75-page report. The Millennium Development Goals Report, 2015 is a rich document presenting data on each of the eight goals. In short, the MDGs have had mixed results, and the headline of one billion people lifted out of extreme poverty (living on less than US $1 a day) is almost entirely a result of the massive gains in China and India.

The 2015 MDG report presents the successes and shortcomings in the areas reducing poverty, increasing employment, and eradicating hunger. In the foreword, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon extolled these successes while conceding that “inequalities persist and that progress has been uneven.” Specifically, few countries met their poverty alleviation targets, and women and other vulnerable groups still tend to be excluded in what gains there were. Maternal and child health is still a very serious problem around the world (especially these 17 countries), including the Philippines, where we have a project with Freedom from Hunger and CARD MRI whose express purpose is to address this problem.

In just a few weeks, world leaders will convene in New York to finalize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the successors to the MDGs. (Here is the SDG agenda for the U.N. Summit.) What is most important for the international community to consider is what worked with the MDGs and why. Moreover, we should take inspiration from the fact that the MDGs did reshape our world. Ban Ki-moon says it best:

“By putting people and their immediate needs at the forefront, the MDGs reshaped decision-making in developed and developing countries alike…Reflecting on the MDGs and looking ahead to the next fifteen years, there is no question that we can deliver on our shared responsibility to put an end to poverty, leave no one behind and create a world of dignity for all.”

In the coming weeks, we will be publishing articles reflecting on each MDG and the assessment as presented in the 2015 report from the U.N. These are produced in partnership with our colleagues at RESULTS (our parent organization), a non-profit that supports a movement of passionate, committed everyday people who use their voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty. RESULTS grassroots volunteers have been instrumental in so many (often unsung) ways over the years to bring about the successes that we do see in the 2015 report.

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